• Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar
  • Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar

The 2022 Motorcycle Adventure

No whining! The purpose of this trip is to enjoy motorcycling the US while seeing old friends, making new old friends, and accomplishing a whole bunch of mostly crazy goals. Okumaya devam et
  • Lake Superior HOG Touring Rally Day 4

    29 Temmuz 2022, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ 🌙 59 °F

    Today was the last day of the rally ☹️. I decided not to sightsee ride with anyone and to come directly back to Marquette from Duluth. I left the hotel at 06:30 and, even with the time change back to Eastern, I got to the campground by noon. I set up camp, then took my laptop to the dealership to use their wifi. I got my GPS tracks downloaded and tomorrow's route uploaded and even worked on my route to Maryland after Sturgis.

    The rally folks started rolling in before 17:00, and we had another great dinner together, chatting and cutting up as we traded contact information and said see ya to all our new friends.

    This was an odd rally for me. I only rode with people the first day, I didn't do the route, and I used campgrounds instead of hotels (mostly). I almost didn't come up here, and I almost feel like I didn't. Except I'm cold 🤣. I would really like to do the actual Circle Tour some day. Maybe in the RV. It's really cold up here 😁.

    More info: https://lakesuperiorcircletour.info/

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Day 140 mileage: 269.0 (total 4517.0 + 24568.7)
    HD Dealerships: 0 (total 255)
    National Parks: 0 (total 46 in 26 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 8 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
    Okumaya devam et

  • Maintenance Day...Again

    30 Temmuz 2022, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ 🌙 75 °F

    Today was pretty good. This morning I hightailed it 175 miles to Northwoods HD in Wisconsin so they could troubleshoot my electrical issue, tail light, and front brakes. They were absolutely fantastic!

    The tail light was just a loose wire under the seat; they didn't charge me separately for that.

    The front brakes, which I've had THREE dealerships look at over the past two months who all said the brakes were fine, were making noise because the pads were completely gone. Metal on rotor. Aarrrgghh! But they installed new pads and no noise now. Great!

    The accessories fault/short took them about 3 hours of labor, but they finally figured it out. The Body Control Module (BCM) is fried. It's essentially the bike's brain and does a whole gambit of things, like what I've been experiencing: ON/OFF/ACC modes; bike doesn't power on or turn off when I flip the power switch; and ABS controls (which I tried to activate today and couldn't).

    Unfortunately, they didn't have the BCM in stock, but they tracked one down for me at Black Magic HD in North Dakota 😁. So, after $500 and borrowing the service truck to grab lunch*, I packed up and headed towards Fargo, ND.

    * The service manager who loaned me the truck said he would loan me a bike but he was afraid I'd put 2,000 miles on it before I came back, so I got the truck 🤣🤣🤣. They were pretty impressed with my >120,000 mileage on a Street Bob 🤣.

    What a huge difference in the weather! I started in my heated gear and gloves in about 50°F and damp. By the time I left Northwoods HD, I could've gone in just a t-shirt and jeans. Even right now it's 73°F!

    I'm only about 85 miles from the Fargo HD, where I planned to spend the night, but there's a decent storm rolling straight at me. So, I decided to stop early and set up before the rain hit. I found a really cool rest area (I guess it is anyway), and I hope no one runs me off. My tent is way better than $80 in a 1-star fleabag motel down the street! Winning!!

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Day 141 mileage: 488.7 (total 5005.7 + 24568.7)
    HD Dealerships: 1 (total 256)
    National Parks: 0 (total 46 in 26 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 8 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
    Okumaya devam et

  • Great White Buffalo 🦬

    31 Temmuz 2022, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ 🌙 72 °F

    What a great day, about as perfect as you can get! I woke this morning around 05:00 to the big storm crashing through. I broke camp and just hung out in the silo until it passed, then loaded up and rode out about 07:30 headed west to Fargo. The roads were wet, but with so little traffic, I didn't get much road spray on me 😁. About an hour in, I began to hit some sprinkles, but there was a gas station right there with an out-of-order pump that I parked by. Grabbed a hot breakfast with hot coffee and waited it out. Perfect 😁!

    After entering North Dakota and passing through Fargo, I hit Jamestown where I stumbled upon the National Buffalo Museum. Really great place with a frontier village, real horse-drawn stagecoach, and the world's largest buffalo...statue. Definitely worth a stop!

    More info: https://www.buffalomuseum.com/

    While there I met two guys from Munich, Germany, who have come over for Sturgis Rally. Cool!

    Then I rode through cloudy but not cold weather around Bismarck and Minot before stopping here in Williston. I don't know how, but I crossed the Continental Divide three times today 🤔. Anyway, I considered camping at the dealership, good place for it, but opted for the Best Western and dinner from Walmart. Now I'm wrapped up in a soft bed watching movies. What a great day 😁! Winning again 😁😁😁!!!

    Oh! I forgot to tell you that yesterday I rode through Hayward, Wisconsin, which was hosting the World's Lumberjack Championship.

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Day 142 mileage: 538.6 (total 5544.3 + 24568.7)
    HD Dealerships: 5 (total 261)
    National Parks: 0 (total 46 in 26 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 8 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
    Okumaya devam et

  • Still in Williston BUT REPAIRED!

    1 Ağustos 2022, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ 🌙 73 °F

    After a comfortable night's rest, I was at Black Magic HD 15 minutes before they opened this morning. They were able to fit me into their schedule, so I spent 6 hours hanging out goofing on my phone.

    Here's the skinny:
    - The BCM replacement didn't fix anything, but the install didn't marry it to the bike, so they didn't charge me for the part.
    - They found a short in the USB port because of corrosion. They disconnected it, but that didn't resolve anything.
    - They discovered the BCM was killing the path from the heated grips. The wires from the controller on the left grip were pinched from the original install in December 2021 and had finally grounded. The parts were under warranty, and they had the same grips in stock, so they replaced the left grip, and "Voila!" everything is fixed.
    - 4.5 hours of labor, but they oy charges me 3 hours, so less than $400 and I was down. Whew!
    - They even washed Willie! 😱

    I hadn't had lunch, so I rolled back into town around 15:00. By the time I finished eating at Doc Holliday's Roadhouse (really cool place), I didn't feel like riding anywhere. Instead, I found a great deal on a hotel for only $50 a night for the next 3 nights. For comparison, my campground in Sturgis costs the same 😐. So I'll be in Williston for a few days.

    Great hotel room at Bakken Airport Hotel & Suites! Awesome air conditioning, two queen beds, big closet, 2 desks, fridge, microwave, HBO, really hot water, and good water pressure. Also, they have Continental breakfast, a pool table, lots of books to borrow, and a little bar. Tremendous place for so cheap! Dare I say it three days in a row? WINNING!!!!

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Day 143 mileage: not much (total 5544.3 + today + 24568.7)
    HD Dealerships: 0 (total 261)
    National Parks: 0 (total 46 in 26 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 8 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
    Okumaya devam et

  • Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

    4 Ağustos 2022, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ 🌙 81 °F

    I made it to Sturgis today after riding through Theodore Roosevelt National Park (north unit). Beautiful. Super hot day, though. About 100°F. 😳

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Day 144? mileage: (total 5544.3 + yesterday? + today? + 24568.7) I've lost track🤣.
    HD Dealerships: 0 (total 261)
    National Parks: 1 (total 47 in 26 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 8 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
    Okumaya devam et

  • Bay, Lakes & Mountains Rally Day 1

    16 Ağustos 2022, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    Today was the first riding day of the Bay, Lakes, and Mountains HOG Touring Rally, and it was a good one. Five of us left Waldorf, Maryland, just after 07:00 this morning and took the toll bridge over Chesapeake Bay. The sunlight was stunning as we rode over the long metal bridge.

    We finally ditched the traffic as we rode into Delaware, where we stopped at the gate for the Air Mobility Command Museum on Dover Air Force Base for a couple of folks to get their 50 Rides, 1 Nation photos.

    We stopped at Old Swedes Church in Wilmington so I could get a National Park System passport stamp for Delaware...but it was closed 😭. Oh well.

    A quick bite at Arby's and several dealerships later, we arrived at our hotel in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, then had burgers and dogs at the host HD.

    At dinner, a lady asked me to take something to Texas for her, a little frog attached to a lily pad that is a scavenger hunt of sorts in remembrance of her grandson. Read his story here: https://christopherslilypadlegacy.weebly.com/ch….

    Now, I've filled my gas tank, picked up food for breakfast, taken my shower, and am in bed ready for tomorrow's ride to New York. Yippee!

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Today's mileage: 309.5 (total 9446.0 + 10552 Hoka Hey + 24568.7 pre-Hoka Hey)
    HD Dealerships: 5 (total I don't know)
    National Parks: 0 (total 54 in 33 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 8 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
    Okumaya devam et

  • Bay, Lakes & Mountains Rally Day 2

    17 Ağustos 2022, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    What a great day! We had lots of terrific swoopy back roads, one detour that was partly paved, a hail storm, a dropped bike, and a bee sting. Awesome!!! 🤣🤣🤣

    But seriously, the five of us actually had a wonderful time despite a little wet and little pain. No lasting injuries and no bike damage.

    We even stopped briefly in Seneca Falls, NY, at the Women's Rights National Historical Park, in which I could've spent all day. Really cool area!

    We had another great meal at the dealership, and now my roomie and I are about to crash because we're leaving very early tomorrow for a very long day on the bikes. It will be great!!

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Today's mileage: 270.3 (total 9716.3 + 10552.0 Hoka Hey + 24568.7 pre-Hoka Hey)
    HD Dealerships: 4 (total I don't know)
    National Parks: 1 (total 55 in 34 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 8 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
    Okumaya devam et

  • Bay, Lakes & Mountains Rally Day 3

    18 Ağustos 2022, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    Well, we got soaked this morning by about three storm cells. Worse, my heated grips stopped working again, so my hands were freezing. At least it wasn't hail though.

    Four of us rode to the dealership in Albany, then shot south to Connecticut for a picture with the covered bridge, the 50 Rides 1 Nation stop. From there, we hit a second HD before twisting up Mount Greylock for Massachusetts' 50 Rides photo. What a great road!

    Then it was down the other side and north through the corner of Vermont back into New York. After a great dinner at the local dealership, we're settled into our room and getting ready for another long day tomorrow. This is a great rally!!!

    P.S.: I'm getting a lot of ribbing about the tire I'm hauling around. I can't wait to get rid of it.

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Today's mileage: 425.2 (total 10141.5 + 10552.0 Hoka Hey + 24568.7 pre-Hoka Hey)
    HD Dealerships: 3 (total I don't know)
    National Parks: 0 (total 55 in 34 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 0 (total 8 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
    Okumaya devam et

  • Bay, Lakes & Mountains Rally Day 4

    19 Ağustos 2022, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ 🌙 72 °F

    Today was the last day of the BLM rally.

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Today's mileage: 393.5 (total 10535.0 + 10552.0 Hoka Hey + 24568.7 pre-Hoka Hey)
    HD Dealerships: 4 (total I don't know)
    National Parks: 0 (total 55 in 34 states)
    10 Rides for 2022: 1 (total 9 of 10)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
    Okumaya devam et

  • Tennessee to Kentucky

    25 Ağustos 2022, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    Made it to Louisville! Got my 10th 10 Rides for 2022 photo!!

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Today's mileage: 221.5 (total 13530.9 + 10552.0 Hoka Hey + 24568.7 pre-Hoka Hey)
    HD Dealerships: 3 (total I don't know)
    National Parks: 0 (total 55 in 34 states & 3 of 4 corners of the US)
    10 Rides for 2022: 1 (total 10 of 10) MISSION COMPLETE!!!
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
    Okumaya devam et

  • My Friend Is Here!!!

    26 Ağustos 2022, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ 🌙 73 °F

    Today was my 130,000-mile service at Bluegrass HD. They also fixed my heated grips 😁 and replaced the rear tire with the one I've been carrying for the last month. I am soooooo very happy to not have to lug that tire around!

    The best part of today, though, is that my dear dear friend John, whom I haven't seen in over a year, has joined me ❤️. Tomorrow we ride for Washington State!

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Today's mileage: 1.0 (total 13531.9 + 10552.0 Hoka Hey + 24568.7 pre-Hoka Hey)
    HD Dealerships: 0 (total I don't know)
    National Parks: 0 (total 55 in 34 states & 3 of 4 corners of the US)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
    Okumaya devam et

  • Three Rivers

    27 Ağustos 2022, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

    We had a great ride today, crossing the Ohio, Illinois, and Mississippi Rivers as we rolled from Louisville through Indiana and Illinois into Iowa.

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Today's mileage: 543.7 (total 14075.6 + 10552.0 Hoka Hey + 24568.7 pre-Hoka Hey)
    HD Dealerships: 6 (total I don't know)
    National Parks: 0 (total 55 in 34 states & 3 of 4 corners of the US)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
    Okumaya devam et

  • Iowa to Nebraska

    28 Ağustos 2022, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ⋅ ☀️ 95 °F

    From Iowa to the Middle of Nowhere, I mean, Nebraska. Long but good day. Although we got pretty soaked before lunch, we had plenty of time to dry out. John got both his Iowa and Nebraska 50 Rides 1 Nation photos, his first ones for the game! Unfortunately, we couldn't get him any poker chips from the dealerships because none were open today, but there will be plenty of other opportunities.

    So long [for now], and thanks for all the fish! ✌️

    Today's mileage: 594.3 (total 14669.9 + 10552.0 Hoka Hey + 24568.7 pre-Hoka Hey)
    HD Dealerships: 5 (total I don't know)
    National Parks: 0 (total 55 in 34 states & 3 of 4 corners of the US)
    MCGTTX Stops: 0 (total 23 of 50)
    Okumaya devam et